function set_bond_values_reactive(;
    session::ServerSession, notebook::Notebook,
    bound_sym_names::AbstractVector{Symbol},
    is_first_values::AbstractVector{Bool}=[false for x in bound_sym_names],
    initiator=nothing,
    kwargs...
)::Union{Task,TopologicalOrder}
    # filter out the bonds that don't need to be set
    syms_to_set = first.(
        Iterators.filter(zip(bound_sym_names, is_first_values) |> collect) do (bound_sym, is_first_value)
            new_value = notebook.bonds[bound_sym].value

            variable_exists = Pluto.MoreAnalysis.is_assigned_anywhere(notebook, notebook.topology, bound_sym)
            if !variable_exists
                # a bond was set while the cell is in limbo state
                # we don't need to do anything
                return false
            end

            # TODO: Not checking for any dependents now
            # any_dependents = Pluto.MoreAnalysis.is_referenced_anywhere(notebook, notebook.topology, bound_sym)

            # fix for https://github.com/fonsp/Pluto.jl/issues/275
            # if `Base.get` was defined to give an initial value (read more about this in the Interactivity sample notebook), then we want to skip the first value sent back from the bond. (if `Base.get` was not defined, then the variable has value `missing`)
            # Check if the variable does not already have that value.
            # because if the initial value is already set, then we don't want to run dependent cells again.
            eq_tester = :(try !ismissing($bound_sym) && ($bound_sym == Main.PlutoRunner.transform_bond_value($(QuoteNode(bound_sym)), $(new_value))) === true catch; false end) # not just a === comparison because JS might send back the same value but with a different type (Float64 becomes Int64 in JS when it's an integer. The `=== true` check handles cases like `[missing] == [123]`, which returns `missing`, not `true` or `false`.)
            if is_first_value && will_run_code(notebook) && WorkspaceManager.eval_fetch_in_workspace((session, notebook), eq_tester)
                return false
            end
            return true
        end
    )::Vector{Symbol}

    if isempty(syms_to_set) || !will_run_code(notebook)
        send_notebook_changes!(ClientRequest(; session, notebook, initiator))
        return TopologicalOrder(notebook.topology, Cell[], Dict{Cell,PlutoDependencyExplorer.ReactivityError}())
    end

    new_values = Any[notebook.bonds[bound_sym].value for bound_sym in syms_to_set]
    bond_value_pairs = zip(syms_to_set, new_values)

    syms_to_set_set = Set{Symbol}(syms_to_set)
    function custom_deletion_hook((session, notebook)::Tuple{ServerSession,Notebook}, old_workspace_name, new_workspace_name, to_delete_vars::Set{Symbol}, methods_to_delete, module_imports_to_move, cells_to_macro_invalidate, cells_to_js_link_invalidate; to_run)
        to_delete_vars = union(to_delete_vars, syms_to_set_set) # also delete the bound symbols
        WorkspaceManager.move_vars(
            (session, notebook),
            old_workspace_name,
            new_workspace_name,
            to_delete_vars,
            methods_to_delete,
            module_imports_to_move,
            cells_to_macro_invalidate,
            cells_to_js_link_invalidate,
            syms_to_set_set,
        )
        set_bond_value_pairs!(session, notebook, zip(syms_to_set, new_values))
    end
    to_reeval = PlutoDependencyExplorer.where_referenced(notebook.topology, syms_to_set_set)

    run_reactive_async!(session, notebook, to_reeval; deletion_hook=custom_deletion_hook, save=false, user_requested_run=false, run_async=false, bond_value_pairs, kwargs...)
end

"""
Returns the names of all defined bonds
"""
function get_bond_names(session::ServerSession, notebook::Notebook)
    cells_bond_names = map(notebook.cell_order) do cell_id
        WorkspaceManager.get_bond_names((session,notebook), cell_id)
    end
    union!(Set{Symbol}(), cells_bond_names...)
end

"""
Returns the set of all possible values for the binded variable `n` as returned by the widget implementation using `AbstractPlutoDingetjes.possible_bond_values(element)`. This API is meant to be used by PlutoSliderServer.
"""
possible_bond_values(session::ServerSession, notebook::Notebook, name::Symbol) = WorkspaceManager.possible_bond_values((session,notebook), name)


"""
Optimized version of `length ∘ possible_bond_values`.
"""
possible_bond_values_length(session::ServerSession, notebook::Notebook, name::Symbol) = WorkspaceManager.possible_bond_values((session,notebook), name; get_length=true)